The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-05-27
THE TRAIN DISPATCHER.


Passenger In His Hand.
The travelling public has long been
wont to bestow approval upon railway
engineers for the self-sacrificing spirit
which they exhibit when the lives en-
trusted to their care are endangered,
and in the annals of the rail these oc-
currences are so frequent that passen-
gers generally picture the man at the
throttle of the locomotive as hero by
virtue Of his position. These opinions
are deservedly held, and it would be
the grossest injustice to detract from
the honor which self-abnegatiOa al.
ways merits; but there is class of rail-
way employees. almost entirely un-
known to passengers, whose response
bili;y is SO much greater. and whose
slightest omission might jeopardize the
lives of people on trains more than any
oversight on the part of conductors or
engineers, that it is indeed strange that
they are so seldom mentioned in the
public prints.
This class is the train dispatcherr.
whose every order is implicitly obeyed
by traiEmen; and while the crew of one
train is responsible for the movement
of that train alone. the dispatcher holds
in his hands the lives of every individ-
ual on every train on the road; and on
a road having a large traffic the duties
imposed on him are very great and ar
duOus.
His position in the railway service is
unique; were all trains running on time
and provided for on the periodical
timetable issued by the company. he
would have no duties to perform; but
trains will get delayed and occasions
will arise requiring extra trains. or
trains without any specified time or
rights, to be run over the road, and
then his services are necessary to avoid
hours of delay.
All trains on railroads are divided in
classes. according to their Importance;
generally two, passenger and freight;
and all trains of one class running IN
specified direction have the right to the
road, or need keep no lookout for
trains of the same or lower class rum
ming in the opposite direction. Thus
it is assumed that on q certain railroad
trains running eastward have the right
Of way over trains running westward;
then an east-bound passenger train can
run the whole length Of the road in en-
tire disregard Of all trains; another
passenger train going west need only
look out for the east-bound passenger
train, while the freight trains must
keep out of the way of both passenger
trains and of the freight train which is
running in the direction prescribed as
having the right of road
Every one understands that all
trains are charted, or have time given
for passing each station, which time
can in no instance be anticipated. and
hence all train men know where all
other trains ought to be at any particu-
lar moment, if on time; but as trains
frequently and generally get late, the
train of inferior class must have its
movement expedited by some extrane-
Gus cause, or it may be delayed for
hours awaiting Il train that may have
been wrecked or has been kept back
for some other Of many causes. Then
the duties Of the train dispatcher are
Of Importance. He will probably give
an order to the delayed train by tele-
graph directing it not to go beyond
certain place which he thinks it can
reach without difficulty and he directs
the opposing train to proceed to the
same place and there pass the other
train and in that manner the trains are
enabled to pass each other without any
delay to either. His great response
bility consists in that he may have a
dozen other trains i'm his charge at the
same time. and in directing one train
to go beyond its usual place to meet
another he may neglect to give an
order to the second train, and in such
an event collision would probably
ensue, much property be destroyed and
probably lives be lost.
1t will readily be seen that the slight
est mistake of train dispatcher might
cause serious results; and in this re-
spcct his responsibility is probably
greater than that of any other individ-
ual under whose charge the public are
placed. A pilot on vessel may lose
his reckoning, but the fact soon be-
come apparent to others, and his capac-
ity for mischief is thereby lessened /;
other railway employees may neglect
their duties, and rush headlong into
! danger, but their associates generally
| realize the danger before any unfor-
tunate results ensue; but the slightest
! behest of train dispatcher must be
/. obeyed without question; even though
| to do so would jeopardize the lives of
those receiving the Orlers-though, Of
course, until an accident results the
f, train men are ignorant of the fact that
they have been given wrong directions.
Instances of oversight of dispatchers
are extremely rare-much less than OF
neglect of conductors and engineers to
adhere to the orders given to them
and while they perform these onerOus
duties almost entirely unknown to the
people whose lives they have in their
control, and therefore never receive
the need of praise due them, travellers
ought at least be made acquainted with
their duties and the important part
they play in the rapid and safe move.
ment of passengers. - philadelphia
Times.
| Cotton.Seed Oil and Lard.